Rosie's Reckoning
by DuckGWR08
Summary: Rosie feels discouraged when the bigger engines dismiss her abilities, but soon finds herself worthy of saving the day.


Rosie is a cheerful red tank engine; she is the number thirty-seven engine on the North Western Railway. Before she was red, she was painted pink and white. She seemed to stand out for her color and nothing else. With her new livery, she feels more at home amongst her peers on the Island of Sodor. But being a small engine, she is still sometimes overlooked.

"Where are my coaches?" bellowed Gordon one morning at Knapford. The big express engine was used to having his passenger coaches brought to him at the platform.

"Be patient, Gordon," replied Rosie, "and let me finish arranging these trucks first."

"The express shouldn't have to wait for some dirty old trucks." huffed Gordon. "Shouldn't Philip be the one messing around with trucks?"

"Philip's at the Dieselworks this morning." Rosie said nonchalantly. "So you'll just have to wait your turn."

Gordon fumed. "The indignity...having to idle around this long waiting for my coaches…"

"Maybe, instead of idling around," suggested Rosie, "you could fetch your own coaches for once."

"Don't be silly, Rosie. Shunting is for little tank engines like you, not refined tender engines like me." Gordon remarked pompously.

Rosie was growing more and more annoyed. "Then don't complain if your coaches aren't there immediately. You're not even supposed to depart for another half hour."

"On the contrary. The porters need time to groom the interior and make sure the seats are in tip-top shape. The express is a very important train."

Rosie just rolled her eyes. She hastily collected Gordon's coaches and shunted them behind him.

"About time." sniffed Gordon.

"Ignore him, Rosie." said Thomas, who had just entered the station for his first branch line train. "Gordon's much too bossy for his own buffers. I should know, I've known him for decades."

"Excuse me if I come off as bossy; the express is arguably the most important train on this railway, so its engine should deserve utmost respect." boasted Gordon. "And what does Rosie do? Shunt trucks and coaches in the yard, or take the occasional small goods train. Her work is nothing compared to us main line engines."

Rosie was now feeling rather hurt. "Hope your express runs smoothly." she muttered passive aggressively.

Thomas could tell that Gordon's rudeness had gotten to her. "Cut it out, Gordon. Is that kind of talk really necessary?"

"Terribly rude!" scolded Annie.

"For shame." said Clarabel.

"I'm used to it, Thomas." replied Rosie. "Nothing new for us small engines."

"Well, his ego matches his size." chuckled Thomas. "Did you know he once ran into a ditch to get out of pulling a goods train?"

"Did he now?" giggled Rosie.

Gordon just groaned.

Later, Rosie had to take some tiles up to Arlesburgh. Although she had been busy all morning, Gordon's words were still bothering her. As she was lining up her trucks, she found James being coupled to a line of tankers.

"Rotten trucks...again!" he grumbled.

"What's the matter, James?" asked Rosie.

"The Fat Controller is making me pull goods trains for the next few days. He's cross with me for bumping the coaches." complained James.

"Trucks aren't so bad, James. I mean, you are a mixed-traffic engine."

"I know, but he knows I prefer coaches. Trucks are dirty and troublesome."

The tankers giggled mischievously behind him, as if to prove his point.

"Maybe you ought to take better care with coaches then, James. Bumping them isn't exactly the best way to go about." advised Rosie.

"I didn't mean to bump them!" protested James. "I just brake sharply sometimes, that's all."

"You best change that, and for your own good, too. You wouldn't want to go crashing through any more sheds."

James winced. He didn't like to be reminded of the time he had lost control of his brakes and crashed through the back of Tidmouth Sheds. His tankers snickered at the mention of his misfortune.

"Huh!" pouted James. "I crash into the sheds one time! I'll never hear the end of it."

Rosie just sighed and departed for the Arlesburgh.

As she puffed up the Little Western, she couldn't help but wonder whether she truly made a difference on the railway. Her thoughts were interrupted when Oliver passed her with a cheerful peep of his whistle.

"Hello Rosie! Nice to see you!"

Rosie whistled back. "Hi Oliver!" she peeped.

She felt a little better, but was still feeling glum. Then she heard the toot of a horn behind her.

"Out of my way!" bellowed Daisy. "Diesel railcar coming through."

"I'll be out of the way in a minute," Rosie responded, "there's a junction just ahead."

"Can you go any faster?" nagged Daisy. "My passengers don't like to be kept waiting."

"I'm going as fast as I can. What's the big deal with waiting a bit?" argued Rosie.

"Important passenger engines like me shouldn't have to wait behind silly goods trains."

Daisy hadn't meant to be rude, but her attitude often made her come off as such. Rosie switched onto the other line in a huff.

"Au revoir!" purred Daisy as she passed.

Rosie just sighed to herself again.

Soon, she had arrived at Arlesburgh West, where her tiles were being loaded into the miniature engines' trucks. Rex was on the turntable ready for shunting when he noticed Rosie looking glum.

"What's the matter, Rosie?" he asked.

"Oh...nothing." muttered Rosie. "Just big engines being big engines."

"Feeling put down by the big 'uns, eh?" chuckled Rex. "Welcome to the club. We little engines put up with a quite a lot of that."

"Yeah, but the big engines have much more important jobs. Most of the time we're just stuck shunting for them."

"Shunting is _very_ important! Railways can't run without it." perked up Rex.

Rosie smiled. "Tell that to Gordon." she chuckled. "He acts like he's too important to fetch his own coaches."

"Shunting also suits tank engines like you because you're quick and don't have to turn around." said Rex. "I have to since I have a tender, but it still takes much quicker than it does for the big engines!"

Rosie chuckled.

"Never overlook a little engine." finished Rex. "That's something we like saying round here."

"Thank you Rex!" said Rosie as she cheerfully set off back to Knapford.

Although Rex's words had been uplifting, Rosie was still feeling a bit glum. She felt the breeze swirl around her funnel as she coasted down Arlesburgh Hill. She stopped at the tunnel junction at the bottom of the hill to find Duck waiting with a line of troublesome trucks.

"Hello Duck!" she greeted. "How's your day been?"

The troublesome trucks giggled in response. Duck just sighed.

"Less than ideal, to be honest...these trucks have been very difficult."

"Oh…" said Rosie. "Well, best of luck then."

"Thanks Rosie, I'll need it to get over this hill." groaned Duck.

"Afraid of a little hill, Great Western?" teased a truck.

"I am certainly not!" retorted Duck.

"You can do it, Duck!" encouraged Rosie.

At that moment, the signal cleared. Duck and Rosie whistled goodbye to each other and started on their ways.

"There are two ways of doing things…" mocked another truck.

"I do not sound like that!" snapped Duck.

Duck steamed furiously up the hill. The trucks were whispering a plan amongst each other.

"Break away when we get to the top!" they giggled.

Duck, oblivious, was just reaching the top of the hill when the trucks suddenly surged backwards.

"Hold back! Hold back!"

"What are you doing?" Duck scolded. "Stop this nonsense at once-"

But before he could say anything else, the coupling snapped and the trucks immediately started rolling down the hill.

"Hurrah! Hurrah!"

"Oh no!" cried Duck.

Duck could only watch helplessly as the trucks picked up speed down the slope. They disappeared into the tunnel, laughing madly.

Meanwhile, Rosie was heading back down the branch line to Knapford. Just then, she heard a rumbling noise coming from the rails on the line beside her. The trucks sped past, and Rosie immediately recognized them as Duck's.

"What's going on?" asked the driver.

"There's been a breakaway!" cried Rosie. "We have to stop them!" Without further hesitation, Rosie sped after them.

"We've broken away! We've broken away!" cackled the trucks as they rocketed down the line. To make matters worse, they had managed to knock the guard off his van. However, it didn't take long for Rosie to catch up with them.

"What do we do now?" said the driver.

"Switch onto the other line!" declared Rosie. "That way, they'll catch us and we can slow them down!"

"We need to alert the signalman quickly then!" replied her driver.

Rosie gasped when she noticed the signal box coming up. She blew her whistle, catching the signalman's attention.

"We need to stop the runaway!" she yelled.

The signalman sized up the situation and switched the points, diverting Rosie onto the trucks' line. The trucks caught her quickly with a bump.

"This foolishness stops now!" she declared, and slammed on her brakes. The trucks felt her strength.

"On! On! On!" they cried. But Rosie's brakes checked them. They were finally beginning to slow down as they rounded a bend. Then, Rosie saw a sight that made her shudder. Oliver was heading up the line with a passenger train - right for them!

Rosie whistled furiously. "Look out!" she cried.

Oliver noticed them and gasped. "Brakes!"

"It's now or never, Rosie!" groaned the driver. Just then, Rosie had an idea.

"Reverse!" she ordered.

The driver instantly pulled the reverse lever. Oliver screeched to a stop and stared helplessly ahead. It was all on Rosie now. Rosie's reversing wheels threw off the trucks' pushing, giving her the upper hand. With a splintering groan, Rosie finally managed to stop the trucks, with her buffers only a few inches from Oliver's. Both engines breathed a sigh of relief.

"What on Earth are you doing on my line?" asked Oliver.

"Duck's trucks broke away…" panted Rosie.

"And they would have hit us if it hadn't been for Rosie!" chimed in Oliver's driver. "Rosie, you're a hero!"

"Three cheers for Rosie!" called one of Oliver's passengers. The other passengers joined in commending Rosie for her brave efforts.

"Thank you, Rosie." smiled Oliver.

Rosie just blushed.

Later, Rosie returned to Knapford to find the Fat Controller waiting for her. He was beaming.

"Rosie, your quick thinking and heroic actions have prevented a serious accident. For that, I commend you."

"Thank you, sir!" she replied bashfully.

"Indeed, that was very courageous of you, Rosie," said Gordon, who was waiting for his afternoon express at the other platform. "Though I do need somebody to fetch my coaches right about now-"

"I think you're quite capable of fetching your own coaches, Gordon." interrupted the Fat Controller. "And I think Rosie here deserves a reward."

Rosie's eyes lit up. "A reward, sir? What kind of reward?"

"Well," said the Fat Controller, "you usually shunt and pull trucks around the railway. How would you like to pull a passenger train?"

"I'd be honored, sir!" exclaimed Rosie. Gordon sheepishly said nothing.

"That's a good engine! I'll have you pull Duck's local tomorrow, seeing as he needs some time to get his trucks in order."

Rosie was grinning from buffer to buffer as the Fat Controller left.

"Well, Rosie," chortled Gordon, "clearly I've underestimated you. You are a brave little engine."

"Never overlook a little engine, Gordon!" chuckled Rosie, remembering Rex's words.

Just then Daisy entered the station from behind.

"Out of my way, little tank engine!" she declared. "Make room for moi!"

"Of course, Daisy…" sighed Rosie.

"Watch how you speak to young Rosie here," advised Gordon. "she stopped a breakaway today!"

"Is that so?" sniffed Daisy. "I would never throw myself in front of some retchid runaway trucks…"

Rosie just chuckled as the big engines chatted away. She would sleep soundly that night knowing she had managed to impress those that had doubted her.


End file.
